| About the University |
Western Washington University, with over 15,000 students in seven colleges and the graduate school, is nationally recognized for its educational programs, students and faculty. The campus is located in Bellingham, Washington, a coastal community of 90,000 overlooking Bellingham Bay, the San Juan Islands and the North Cascades Mountain range. The city lies 90 miles north of Seattle and 60 miles south of Vancouver, British Columbia. Western has additional sites in Anacortes, Bremerton, Everett, Port Angeles, and Poulsbo. Western is recognized nationally for its successes, such as being named one of the top public master's-granting institutions in the Pacific Northwest for 25 years in a row by U.S. News & World Report.
Western Washington University is committed to achieving excellence through advancing inclusive success, increasing our Washington impact, and focusing on transformational education grounded in the liberal arts and sciences and based on innovative scholarship, research, and creative activity. Western's greatest strength is the outstanding students, faculty, staff, and alumni/ae who make up its community. Western supports an inclusive governance structure for all and provides a learning and working environment in which everyone can thrive. In pursuit of this excellence, individual employees are expected to establish and maintain productive and effective inclusive working relationships amongst diverse populations including staff, faculty, administration, student, and external constituents. Further, individual employees are expected to have the ability to operationalize sustainability concepts (economic, societal, environmental) into all aspects of performing their job duties.
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| About the Position |
The Fiscal Technician 3—Accounts Payable provides advanced and specialized fiscal support functions within a public higher education institution’s Accounts Payable unit. The role is responsible for accurately processing a high volume of complex transactions, including vendor payments, employee reimbursements, and student-related disbursements while ensuring compliance with state regulations, institutional policies, grant requirements, and audit standards. The role requires independence, accuracy, strong analytical skills, and exceptional customer service.
This position operates in a hybrid and office-based environment, requiring extensive use of computers and ERP systems. The role involves frequent interaction with faculty, staff, vendors, and internal administrative offices, and includes responsibility for handling confidential and sensitive financial information.
Accounts Payable Operations
- Review, verify, and process invoices, purchasing card transactions, travel reimbursements, honoraria, and independent contractor payments.
- Match invoices to purchase orders, contracts, and receive reports in accordance with institutional procurement policies.
- Ensure payments comply with state and university regulations, including allowable expenses, chart-of-account coding, and grant restrictions.
- Prepare invoices for payment batches including ACH, checks, wires, and refunds.
- Responsible for incoming mail from external sources and distributes to appropriate recipients.
- Maintain documentation in accordance with internal controls, audit requirements, and retention schedules.
- Review transactions for proper approvals and compliance with institutional travel and purchasing policies.
Customer & Campus Support
- Serve as a resource for internal and external customers regarding accounts payable processes, payment status, and policy interpretation.
- Collaborates with Procurement, Budget, Grants Administration, and departmental units to resolve fiscal issues.
- Provide guidance or workflow support to fiscal staff and student employees.
Reconciliation & Financial Analysis
- Reconcile vendor statements and outstanding payables; investigate and resolve discrepancies.
- Monitor open encumbrances, unmatched receipts, and invoice exceptions.
- Support fiscal year-end close activities, including accruals, lapse reporting, and preparing documentation for external and state auditors.
Systems Use & Process Improvement
- Utilize spreadsheets, databases, and reporting tools to track payable activity and ensure data accuracy.
- Assist with testing upgrades or new modules in the financial management system.
- Recommend improvements to enhance compliance, efficiency, and service quality.
- Work with ERP platforms and procurement systems such as Jaggaer.
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| Required Qualifications |
- Two or more years of fiscal/accounting experience, including accounts payable; OR
- Equivalent education/experience such as coursework or a certificate in accounting, business administration, or finance.
- Knowledge of fund accounting and public higher education financial policies.
- Understanding of accounts payable procedures, audit controls, and purchasing/travel regulations.
- Demonstrated ability to analyze financial data, reconcile discrepancies, and interpret policy.
- Competence with ERP systems (Workday, Banner, PeopleSoft, Jaggaer, etc.) and Microsoft Excel.
- Demonstrated strong communication, organizational, and customer service skills.
- Ability to maintain accuracy while managing high transaction volume and multiple deadlines.
- Ability to work independently and develop collaborative relationships that are equitable and inclusive for individuals from diverse social identities and backgrounds.
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